---
name: dumbify
description: Use when writing or auditing content that has to be easy to follow — explainer reels, teaching carousels, how-to scripts, any piece that teaches or explains something — or when a draft feels dense, jargony, high-effort, or hard to follow. Lowers reading level and mental load so people keep watching and reading. Pairs with the other writing skills in this pack.
---

# Dumbify

People don't churn because content is too simple. They churn because following it is **too much work.** Every bit of mental effort — a fancy word, a nested sentence, undefined jargon — is a reason to swipe away. This skill cuts that effort.

**Target: ~8th-grade reading level for the body, ~6th for hooks.** Easy to follow = low strain = high retention.

## Simple language, not simple ideas

You are lowering the **reading level**, not dumbing down the thinking. The idea can be sophisticated; the words shouldn't be. **Simple ≠ simplistic.** A sharp 13-year-old should be able to *follow* it — that doesn't mean the insight is for 13-year-olds.

## Where it earns its keep

- **High value:** explainers, educational/teaching content, how-to, anything on a technical, financial, or abstract topic. This is where dense writing kills retention.
- **Low value:** already-conversational captions, short hooks, casual personal stories — these come out simple naturally. Don't force this skill where there's nothing to simplify.

## The moves

1. **Cut jargon** — or swap it for the word you'd use telling a friend who isn't in the field. (Jargon the audience *shares* is fine — it's only friction when they don't have it. If you have an audience profile, respect the jargon they already know; a technical audience keeps its technical words.)
2. **One idea per sentence** — break nested clauses into separate sentences.
3. **Common words over fancy ones** — *use* not utilize, *help* not facilitate, *show* not demonstrate, *enough* not sufficient, *about* not approximately.
4. **Concrete over abstract** — "the export button" not "the relevant control"; "you'll save 2 hours" not "efficiency gains."
5. **Active voice** — "the model picks the next word," not "the next word is selected by the model."
6. **Cut filler** that adds no meaning — "basically," "in order to," "the fact that."
7. **Teach by example** — one concrete example lowers load more than a precise definition. Show it happening.

## Don't let it fight the other skills

- **Rhythm (storytelling):** simplify the **words and structure, not the length variety.** A long sentence is fine if it's made of simple words and reads in one breath. **Never flatten everything into short choppy sentences to "hit a grade level"** — that kills the music storytelling builds. Vary length; keep words plain.
- **Specificity (anti-ai-writing):** these *agree*. Concrete specifics — a number, a name, an example — make a piece easier to follow, not harder. "$1,000 becomes $10,000 in 30 years" is both more specific and more readable than "your money grows substantially."
- **Voice:** don't sand off your personality to simplify. Keep your words and your slang; cut the complexity *around* them.

## How to gauge the level (no tool needed)

- **Read it aloud.** Stumble, run out of breath, or have to re-read a sentence? Too dense — break it up.
- **The 13-year-old test.** Would a sharp 13-year-old follow it on the first pass?
- **Spot the load:** flag words over 3 syllables that have a plain substitute, sentences over ~25 words, more than one clause nested in a sentence, and any jargon the audience may not share.

## Writing mode

Draft normally first. Then do a load pass: find the two or three densest sentences and lighten them — plainer words, split the nests, add an example where a definition is doing the work.

## Audit mode

Flag each high-load spot with the **exact line**, then give the simpler rewrite. Keep the meaning and the voice intact.

```
SIMPLIFY AUDIT (target ~8th grade):
  Jargon:        FLAG — "returns compound on the principal" → "you earn money on the money you already earned"
  Nested clause: FLAG — "Because the gains, which accrue annually, are reinvested, the balance grows faster"
                 → "Each year's gains get added back in. So the next year, they earn too."
  Abstraction:   FLAG — "significant long-term growth" → "$1,000 becomes over $10,000 in 30 years"
  Reading level: ~11th grade → rewrite lands ~7th
  Rewrite: [plainer version, rhythm and voice preserved]
```

## Anti-overfitting

Don't baby-talk. Don't strip nuance the idea needs. Don't make every sentence short — that's flattening, not simplifying. Don't remove a technical term the audience knows and expects. The test: **could a smart person in the target audience follow this without effort, while still feeling it respects their intelligence?** If it reads as dumbed-down, you went too far.